Turkey trying to find me was once simply one thing to do within the spring, but it surely has developed right into a full-blown obsession. The spiral down the rabbit gap has led to much less sleep, shopping for a bunch of {custom} calls, and buying a string of turkey weapons. My newest addition to the turkey arsenal is the Benelli M2 Turkey Efficiency Store, a tricked out semi-custom 20-gauge that guarantees one of the best efficiency within the turkey gun market.
I’ve patterned it with three hundreds and hunted with it in two states. Right here’s what I believe to this point.
- Barrel Size: 24 inches
- 20 gauge
- Chambered for two ¾ and 3-inch shells
- Size of Pull: 14 ⅜ inches
- General Size: 45.3 inches
- Weight: 5.9 kilos (measured)
- Set off Pull Weight: 6.45 kilos (measured)
- Capability: 3 + 1
- Included Chokes: Further full turkey, F, IM, M, IC, C
- Features a Burris Fastfire pink dot
- Mossy Oak Bottomland camo
- Ported Crio Barrel
- Outsized bolt launch
- Outsized bolt deal with
- MSRP: $2,949 ($2,599 retail)
The Benelli Efficiency Store and Rob Roberts
The Efficiency Store shotguns are Benelli fashions which are modified for optimum efficiency for particular searching functions. The M2 Turkey is finished in partnership with Rob Roberts Custom Gun Works, which is an organization that focuses on {custom} shotguns. They provide various providers together with set off work, motion sprucing, lengthening forcing cones, and porting. You may ship your shotgun to Rob Roberts to have these modifications made or you should buy the M2 Turkey, which has all that and extra. Along with the efficiency enhancements Rob Roberts Customized Gun Works gives a pc sample evaluation. My gun’s sample evaluation confirmed a Federal 1 5/8 ounce, #9 TSS with 253 of its 615 pellets inside a 10-inch circle.
Ported Crio Barrel
Benelli freezes their barrels at -300 levels. They are saying that cryogenically treating barrels relieves stresses from hammer forging, which creates a smoother and extra uniform floor. The result’s a denser sample and a barrel that wants much less cleansing.
The barrel can also be ported, which is designed to scale back muzzle soar for fast follow-up photographs.
Burris FastFire Purple Dot
The Customized Store Turkey comes with a Burris FastFire 2 pink dot. It has a 4 MOA dot, computerized brightness, and on/off change on the facet. The auto brightness labored effectively for me in numerous lighting circumstances and it constantly produced a clear dot with no bloom. The uncovered on/off change on the facet is the most important con, and some occasions it unintentionally received got rid of whereas searching.
Outsized Controls
The outsized bolt launch and bolt deal with are good for loading and unloading at the hours of darkness, however not essential on a turkey gun. Afternall I’m not pace loading this shotgun. I particularly just like the outsized bolt deal with as a result of I can rack it with my thumb after which click on the provider launch tab with my index finger to lock the bolt again in a single easy movement.
Inertia Pushed
Benelli’s signature function is their inertia pushed system. It’s less complicated and lighter than fuel semi-auto methods as a result of it solely makes use of three major components: inertia spring, bolt physique, and rotating bolt head. It additionally stays cleaner as a result of it doesn’t use fuel to maneuver the bolt. Learn OL’s full story on gas vs inertia shotguns for more information.
20 Gauge Solely
The M2 Turkey Efficiency Store is barely accessible in 20 gauge, which is simply high quality with me. The 20 gauge is the brand new 12 for turkey searching because of TSS hundreds and extra-full chokes. With the suitable 20, you’ll be able to shoot a lighter weight gun that’s completely able to taking turkeys to 50 yards. Check out my patterning information for proof.
Patterning the Benelli M2 Turkey
Capturing turkey hundreds from a bench isn’t practically as enjoyable as capturing them at a longbeard, and counting TSS pellet holes is extra painful than the recoil. However, I’ll undergo to deliver you stable information.
I patterned three hundreds at 40 yards: Apex Turkey TSS, Herters Turkey TSS, and Federal Heavyweight TSS. All had been No. 9 hundreds and 3-inch shells. The Herters and Federal have 1 ½-ounce payloads, whereas the Apex has a 1 ⅝-ounce load.
The Apex hundreds carried out one of the best with practically 50 p.c of the pellets contained in the 10-inch circle. That is excellent real-world sample efficiency out of a 20 gauge. Herters loads, which had been $8 cheaper per field, shot sample with a median of 232 pellet strikes. The Federal load was a disappointment as its sample was way more open. This load nonetheless threw a turkey-killing sample, but it surely put far fewer pellets on course than the opposite two hundreds. In case your coronary heart is ready on capturing the Federal Heavyweight, it’s a good suggestion to experiment with completely different chokes to get one of the best sample.
In complete I shot 18 rounds on the vary with the three completely different hundreds, plus one shot within the subject. The M2 was 100% dependable in feeding and ejecting these 19 photographs.
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Testing within the Area
Scott Einsmann
I touted the Benelli M2 whereas searching in Virginia and Indiana this spring. Although a 9.5 hour drive separates the 2 searching spots, they’re comparable in terrain. Each are hilly with a mixture of swamps, hardwoods, cutovers, and fields. The most important distinction is that the woods are just a little thicker with extra pines in Virginia and Indiana has just a few extra hills.
Within the thicker VA woods the M2 Turkey dealt with properly. In my numerous calling setups I by no means felt just like the gun was a think about selecting the place I sat. I notably like that this turkey gun doesn’t have a pistol grip as a result of I choose basic ergonomics. I discovered the gun factors naturally and I by no means needed to hunt for my dot.
The 5.9-pound M2 was straightforward to hold whereas masking floor and attempting to strike tight lipped Indiana gobblers. Final yr I hunted with a Mossberg 500 .410 as a result of I used to be uninterested in operating round with a heavy 12 gauge. My .410 is a few 1/4 pound heavier than the M2, and it has a extra restricted vary which price me just a few birds final yr. For me, this 20 gauge is the best package deal in weight and downrange lethality.
These uncooperative Hoosier birds confirmed themselves in a subject round noon. I grabbed a fan, after which stomach crawled to 150 yards from them. Once I raised the fan I gave it a slight flip facet to facet. The delicate motion caught the eye of one of many toms and he slowly began my approach. I inched up just a little farther, introduced the fan up once more, and let loose just a few gentle yelps. The longbeard’s stroll become a trot with the second gobbler and 5 jakes in tow. I received the M2 able to shoot, and when he picked his head up at 30 yards, I despatched 590 TSS pellets his approach. He was stone useless and hardly flopped. Capturing a turkey susceptible isn’t a part of my typical capturing repertoire, but it surely’s a scenario the place dealing with gun is good to have.
What the Benelli M2 Turkey Does Greatest
Scott Einsmann
This featherweight turkey killer is good for run-and-gun searching. I completely loved carrying it up and down hills as I looked for birds. It’s straightforward to keep up and I can disassemble it in a couple of minutes. It’s most spectacular function is how effectively it shot the Apex No. 9 load. Its patterns gave me a whole lot of confidence as I headed into the woods and I noticed the effectiveness of that combo firsthand.
The place the Benelli M2 Turkey Can Enhance
The Benelli M2 Turkey Efficiency Store may gain advantage from a lighter set off. At 25 yards the Apex load shot the majority of its pellets right into a 5-inch sample, so a jerked set off at a detailed turkey may lead to a miss. A pound or two much less pull weight would go a great distance.
This Efficiency Store shotgun is pricey and it makes use of premium elements all through. However, I’d contemplate the pink dot that comes with it to be a funds possibility. A premium pink dot would supply the consumer with much more worth.
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The Upshot
If you realize who received the GNCC, don’t sleep in April or Might, and preserve diaphragm calls in your fridge, the M2 Turkey Efficiency Store is likely to be for you. It is a shotgun for the diehard turkey hunter and shotgun connoisseur who received’t balk at its practically $3,000 price ticket.
